Anti-drug Group's Prayer Answered

Auto Body Shop Owner Donates Truck For Good Cause

PLAINVILLE — No one had high hopes for the beaten-up pickup truck parked in a corner of Jim Voisine's auto body shop in Southington.

``It was in rough shape. I had bought the truck to scavenge parts off it,'' Voisine said.

Det. Jeff Bajek, the police department's Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer, shook his head when he was told that the 1979 truck with 115,000 miles on it would be the program's official vehicle.

``I said, `Wow, I really don't see much future in that truck,' '' Bajek said.

Voisine donated the truck to Supporters of DARE, a local group run by Ann Bucchi that wanted to get a vehicle for Plainville's drug education program. Voisine's daughter went through DARE classes at Louis Toffolon School.

While others wondered about the truck, Bucchi was thrilled. She was having little success finding a cheap vehicle until Voisine read a newspaper article about her predicament.

``I was against having a sports car seized from a drug dealer or something flashy like that,'' Bucchi said. ``That might suggest to children that drugs can buy great things and DARE is not about flashy things.''

Since the truck was to be a showcase for the program, Voisine knew it could not stay as a dilapidated heap. In March, he and Bucchi contacted his suppliers and other companies asking them to donate parts or sell them at cost. Thirty companies contributed glass, tires, wheels, the front fender and a body panel. Voisine did the repairs on his own time, with help from Plainville High School students.

The truck sports a light bar over the cab and a DARE logo on the side, both of which were donated.

``They did a beautiful restoration job,'' Bajek said. Paperwork delayed getting the insurance and a municipal plate until August. But the truck participated in the Memorial Day parade and entered a car show in Berlin during the summer. Bajek plans to enter the truck in another show this weekend in Bloomfield.

Bajeck said a truck is a versatile vehicle for the DARE program. With an 8-foot bed, it carried 10 children in the Memorial Day parade.

Bucchi's group still must raise money for maintenance. One source will be redeeming soda cans that officers leave in a bin at headquarters.